Abstract
Objective
To investigate prescribing patterns of cyproterone acetate/ethinylestradiol (CPA/EE)
in the United Kingdom before and after the 2013 prescribing guidance.
Study design
We conducted a retrospective descriptive study in UK general practice. The study population
included women with a first prescription (index date) for CPA/EE in The Health Improvement
Network in 2011 (N=2760), 2012 (N=2923) and 2014 (N=2341).
We evaluated the proportion of new CPA/EE users with (i) a diagnosis of a hyperandrogenic
condition, menstrual problem, consultation for contraception management, and other
acne treatment, in the year before the index date; and (ii) proportion of new CPA/EE
users with concomitant use of another hormonal contraceptive (HC).
Results
The percentage of CPA/EE new users with a record of a hyperandrogenic condition was
61% in 2011, 62% in 2012 and 63% in 2014. Corresponding percentages for acne were
51%, 54% and 55%, respectively. When manually reviewing patient records for a sample
of CPA/EE new users (n=200), the acne was recorded in 77% of women, hirsutism in 9.5% and polycystic ovary
syndrome in 9.5%. Majority of CPA/EE users had a prior acne diagnosis and/or treatment,
76% (n=2091) in 2011, 79% (n=2296) in 2012 and 78% (n=1834) in 2014. Concomitant use of CPA/EE and another HC was rare, 1% of CPA/EE users
in 2011 and fewer than 0.5% of CPA/EE users in both 2012 and 2014.
Conclusions
Before and after 2013, the majority of UK women starting treatment with CPA/EE had
a condition in line with its approved indication and had received prior acne treatment
as per guidance.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 18, 2016
Accepted:
October 12,
2016
Received in revised form:
October 10,
2016
Received:
July 27,
2016
Footnotes
☆Funding: This study was funded by Bayer Pharma AG.
☆☆Conflicts of interest: L.C.S. and L.A.G.R. work for Centro Español de Investigación Farmacoepidemiológica, which has received research funding from Bayer Pharma AG. L.A.G.R. has also served as an advisory board member for Bayer Pharma AG. A.A. is a salaried, full-time employee of Bayer Pharma AG.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
